Do you own a large parcel of land in the Neighbourhood Residential Zone?
The Victorian Minister for Planning has recently approved a number of changes to the planning controls relating to the residential zones. These changes have significant implications for the development potential of residential land within metropolitan Melbourne. Of particular interest are the changes that have been made to land identified within the Neighbourhood Residential Zone (NRZ). Land zoned NRZ is typically associated with lower density development and applies to large areas of Melbourne’s established residential areas.
The changes to the NRZ include:
- Increasing the maximum building height from 8 metres to 9 metres and coupling this with a new 2 storey height limit. Provisions to allow for slightly higher buildings on sloping land will remain. Councils will still be able to set alternative maximum heights, but these must be more than the standard 9 metres and 2 storeys;
- Allowing the maximum building height to be increased where applicable flood levels affect land;
- Removing the limit on the number of dwellings that can be built on a property (previously capped at two dwellings);
- A new requirement for relevant neighbourhood, heritage, environmental or landscape character objectives to be specified in the schedule to the zone;
- Updating the exempt development and transition provisions.
In addition to these controls, a new requirement to set aside a proportion of the site for ‘garden area’ has also been introduced.
- Garden area is defined as land normally associated with the use of an area. Open entertaining areas, lawns, garden beds, swimming pools, and tennis courts are to be included in the calculation of the garden area. It does not include driveways, areas set aside for car parking, or any buildings or roofed areas.
- The garden area requirement applies to all land in the Neighbourhood Residential Zone on lots of 400 square metres or more. It is a mandatory requirement and must be in accordance with the table below:
In our opinion, the removal of the minimum two dwelling density control creates a major development opportunity for landowners or developers considering proposals on larger tracts of NRZ land. New residential developments should still reflect the character of the surrounding neighbourhood, but the implementation of the reformed controls has the potential to create numerous new development opportunities across Melbourne.
If you have any questions about how the reformed residential zones affect your development site, please contact the team at proUrban via: https://www.pro-urban.com.au/
Image courtesy of: The Herald Sun
